Land-Sales Fight Could Be Brewing

Sunday

Aug 18, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Florida potentially has $70 million to spend on conservation land purchases this year.

By LLOYD DUNKELBERGERTHE LEDGER

TALLAHASSEE | Florida potentially has $70 million to spend on conservation land purchases this year.However, $50 million of that funding is contingent on the sale of "surplus" state land bought under previous conservation initiatives. In the coming week, the state Department of Environmental Protection is expected to unveil a surplus-lands list that may eventually generate some funding, but is equally likely to generate controversy."We're going to wait to see the list before we make any judgment," said Eric Draper, a lobbyist for Audubon of Florida. "We want to wait to see the sausage before we evaluate the cook."Audubon and other environmental groups have lamented the decline of Florida's conservation land-buying efforts, which once totaled $300 million or more annually. But an economic recession coupled with a more politically conservative state leadership sharply curtailed the current Florida Forever land-buying program.Heading into the 2013 legislative session, the environmental groups reached an agreement with Gov. Rick Scott to revive Florida Forever. In exchange for Scott supporting the use of general revenue for the program, the environmental groups agreed that $50 million could be raised through the sale of surplus lands.The new state budget, which took effect July 1, sets out $20 million for land purchases along with $50 million from potential surplus land sales.Now, the DEP is in the process of refining the criteria for identifying surplus lands and then developing the list — which should make its debut sometime before a hearing that is scheduled for Wednesday evening in Tallahassee.The DEP has stressed that the list is just another preliminary step in the process and that lands will not be declared surplus without further hearings and review. Ultimately, it would be up to Scott and the state Cabinet to declare property as surplus and authorize its sale.Although Draper said he is "comfortable" with the evaluation process, he has some concerns.First, he said the Legislature limited the use of money generated from the surplus lands sales to certain types of conservation projects, including purchasing buffer land for military bases in the state.Draper also said it is uncertain how the criteria the DEP is using to evaluate potential surplus lands will impact the process. For instance, he said an emphasis on protecting lands deemed valuable for water quality may lower the evaluation for lands more involved with wildlife habitat protection."We're not sure that the weighting is going to turn out in way to favor the most environmentally sensitive lands," Draper said.Draper said ultimately the DEP surplus lands list may run into the same opposition that was faced by Florida's water management districts, which also tried to identify surplus lands under the governor's directive."People really turned out in terms of comments and participation to object to a lot of projects that were put on the lists," Draper said. "So the districts had to really narrow their lists."Draper said he wasn't surprised."Any time the state talks about surplusing some of these lands somebody shows up and says, ‘Hey, I hunt there or that's where I watch birds,'" Draper said. "Somebody is out there who cares about the land. They can't assume that people are just going to go along with this. There is going to be pushback from the public."In the long term, Audubon and other environmental groups are advancing a constitutional initiative — slated for the 2014 ballot — that would require the state to set aside some $100 million a year for conservation land protection.Draper said the groups have collected more than 150,000 voter signatures out of the nearly 700,000 that will be required to put the measure on the general election ballot. Facing a Feb. 1 signature deadline, Draper said the groups recently decided to raise money and hire professional signature gatherers in order to meet the deadline.

WINNER OF THE WEEKDean Cannon. The former House speaker from Winter Park enjoyed a successful launch of his lobbying career, according to a report from the Orlando Sentinel. Cannon's firm, Capitol Insight, earned some $1.55 million in lobbying fees during the first six months of 2013, which covers the annual legislative session. Although Cannon is prohibited from lobbying the Legislature for two years, other members of his firm can lobby lawmakers, while Cannon is free to lobby the executive branch. The firm's clients include AT&T, The Villages and Walt Disney World. State ethics laws were recently changed to extend the two-year ban to executive branch lobbying by future lawmakers.

LOSER OF THE WEEKMitch Needelman. The former Republican state representative from Melbourne was arrested Thursday on charges of bribery and bid tampering, stemming from a contract that Needelman signed as the Brevard County clerk of courts, a position he won after he left in the Legislature in 2008.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK"This lawsuit will be targeted toward one thing — fighting for the future of Apalachicola," Gov. Rick Scott said in announcing Florida will sue the state of Georgia, alleging Florida's northern neighbor's unrestricted use of water has harmed the Apalachicola community and its oyster industry.

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